Some actors intentionally avoid the reviews for their films. When everyone is a critic, there’s no point in hearing people pick your work apart, right? Not if you're friends with Elton John, apparently. In the case of Taron Egerton, who plays John in Rocketman, there's no avoiding the reviews, thanks to the man he's portraying (and who produced the film).
Egerton stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! ahead of Friday’s upcoming Rocketman release to discuss the film and his newfound relationship with the prolific rock singer. On top of having stayed in the guy's house (unsurprisingly, he has a room full of ornamental cats), it turns out the two have quite the email relationship. After a glowing audience review at Cannes, Egerton was trying to avoid any other reviews of the film, but when you’re friends with Elton John, you get updates. Literally every day.
“It’s the same title every time,” Egerton says. “And another one.” As for slipping and revealing what the email address is, Egerton stayed tight lipped and said it’s nothing too special. “It’s actually quite pedestrian." Elton John 100 percent still has an AOL email address—I feel it in my bones. Someone check and see if Rocketman1947@aol.com is still available.
It seems the email spamming goes both ways, though. During filming, Egerton admits to getting drunk and firing a couple emails Elton’s way with samples of “Pinball Wizard” before he recorded it. After some trepidation on Egerton’s end, Elton sent him a message back simply saying, “You’ve got it now.”
That’s the kind of email friendship we all need.
Justin Kirkland is a Brooklyn-based writer who covers culture, food, and the South. Along with Esquire, his work has appeared in NYLON, Vulture, and USA Today.
